Domino (label)
09 October 2015 (released)
20 October 2015
Listening to Alex G’s [short for Giannascoli] latest effort Beach Music proved a frustrating experience.
On the one hand the artist’s seventh album is a melodically chilled effort, with pleasant guitar, drums and accompanying electronic instrumentation. On the other, this same LP finds an artist eager to experiment, and dare I say it show off. It’s no surprise then that this provides mixed results.
The record’s prelude simply titled, ‘Intro’ is as musically raucous as things get throughout 13 tracks. The Indie act can be heard warming up the backing machines, before producing a discordant rabble rousing sound most likely heard from a high school band practicing in a friend’s mother’s basement.
Fortunately, as opener ‘Bug’ kicks in things are decidedly much more tranquil. In fact, G maintains this ethic consistently, utilizing gentle guitar and drums as a staple throughout.
Sadly even as things are tuneful the Domino label newbie can’t help but try irritating tricks. These sins include continually singing in disconcerting falsetto, silly voices, and, weird pinky and perky-esque effects [’ Bug’ ‘Bright Boy’]. Admittedly though, it is these indulgences that provides the best track of the piece, in the form of the eerie ‘Salt’.
Accompanied by a cold organ sound and isolating guitar, the high-pitched vocals actually begin to serve ambiguous lyrics which speak of flying into a cloud of happiness, wrecking balls of fear, and retreat from a presumably romantic relationship.
G’s approach brings an intriguingly dark edge to the song. When the character sings “don’t make me hurt you I'm watching you from here” you have to wonder if things are about to take a sinister turn.
Alienating and unsettling the listener is a neat one time trick, but most of the time it’s a barrier that gets in the way of interesting themes of, love, control, disconnection and escapism.
It’s difficult to appreciate the subject matter when one is consumed by questions like, why does he sound so high-pitched? And more to the point what did he say?
